With “your favorite director’s favorite fits” in bio, @DirectorFits sends a very clear message: uncovering the underappreciated style of directors throughout history.

This instagram page is more than a mood board, it’s a cross-examination of fashion and film delivered with a sweet conversational cadence. What was started by Hagop Kourounian for fun during the pandemic has now been positioned within the greater film industry ecosystem itself.

Along with his own line of allusive clothing, @DirectorFits has partnered with the likes of Netflix, A24, Mubi, & Synth History in addition to contributing to GQ, Mr Porter & Coveteur. We sat down with him to discuss The Valley, the film industry’s love affair with fashion, and go-to movie snacks.

Nick Canchola: Why did you start the account?

Hagop Kourounian: I was cleaning out my room during the pandemic and I had a laptop that I was using that was pretty old. It had a shit ton of screenshots and photos saved from years of going down rabbit holes of a bunch of things not just necessarily movie-related but clothing-related, car-related, much of my random interests at the time. I had this huge folder of screenshots that I started organizing because I wanted to save the important files on this computer. It was then I started realizing I had all these amazing photos of Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarintino, (Steven) Speilberg, Sofia Coppola… they’re wearing things that I recognize, cool clothes and things you see on other moodboard accounts, the way they styled themselves was like what you see in lookbooks. These photos were special so I started putting all the images into one folder. After I had a big chunk of them, I started going and looking out for more [images] realizing there’s not only these 20 photos, there’s like hundreds of moments where filmmakers are working or promoting their movies or just out and about in their regular life wearing great outfits that are a lot of the time overlooked by their actors. [Directors] felt like a type of creative person that wasn’t getting their shine in the fashion world. And that goes with saying of course directors have always been tapped in with fashion, Scorsese and Schrader having both worked with Armani for example, but whenever, let's say Paul Schrader was just on GQ, they hardly talked about clothing. They mostly talked about his movies. I felt like a kind of void of, “Why are we not talking about what they're wearing?” We're seldom getting their take on fashion. No one has ever asked them why they're wearing what they're wearing, or what they like. And I still haven't really gotten the chance to do a lot of those things. But I'm trying to make those connections so that other people can see them too.

NC: And that brings a greater conversation about IG moodboard culture. Your account is not just a collection of images but holds a greater voice and perspective. There’s a question about what the reason was for keeping the account “anonymous” and how intentional that decision was?

HK: Well, you can kinda figure that out now…

NC: Obviously yes, I mean we are here doing this interview now.

HK: WelI, didn’t want to put the GQ article as written by “Director Fits.” I’m by no means a professor or anything here. I’m constantly learning too. There are so many new things I’ve learned about clothes from researching these outfits: whether it be tailoring, certain aspects on a collar, type of buttons, etc. I try not to put myself out as an expert. It’s more of like a, “Hey, I think this is cool, check it out.” If you think it's cool, you think it's cool. If you don’t, I don’t care.

When it comes to voice, it’s like I’m discovering it along with you because if I’m posting it today, I literally probably found out about it two days before. I think sometimes it sounds informal because of that. I’m not a formal person anyways, I think formal shit sounds boring. And especially [my content being] clothes and movies, both of them are not that serious.

I guess a big part about why I write what I write is because there are so many accounts that just post a photo and like nothing else. I at least try to tell you who took the photo, who’s in it, where it was shot and what year maybe.

NC: So going back to your roots, how has growing up in The Valley influenced your interest in film? What is your opinion on the general perception of the valley and how it is portrayed in film and media?

HK: My first ever memory of [Valley Culture in media] was the movie Encino Man. I was like five years old or something living in Encino and recognized some of the streets. I remember thinking that it was very normal for a big movie to be about where you live. Valley Girl I think does [portray The Valley poorly] because Nicolas Cage’s character is disgusted when they go to their house and have sushi. I also feel like that’s such a flex for The Valley to have sushi in the ‘80s, apparently the first place to bring sushi to LA was in The Valley. It’s usually portrayed negatively, stuck up rich kids throwing house parties at their parents house. Noses up at people from Hollywood and underground culture but that’s probably the opposite. So much cool stuff has happened in The Valley like all the movies are made in The Valley, half the studios are in The Valley. You could even argue the birthplace of entertainment is in The Valley. During filming, a lot of people will use The Valley just to be in the general Los Angeles area. I was watching Two and a Half Men recently and in this episode, he has to move back to Sherman Oaks and they are treating it like its a fucking wasteland. But now I feel like it's expensive to live in Sherman Oaks, it’s luxurious. 

It is portrayed pretty badly up until Paul Thomas Anderson. I think he's like the only person who purposely made a movie about the valley and put it in an interesting or maybe even positive light with nuance in these Valley people while some other movies just caricatured them, which is what that Frank Zappa song does. He’s making fun of a valley girl and saying all the slogans with a high pitched voice talking on the phone.

NC: It’s this contrast because The Valley is equally this cookie cutter suburban paradise, very easy going with strong mall culture, but then it's also this cultural wasteland of sameness which obviously isn’t the case, you know? Is there anything you wish more people knew about The Valley?

HK: Maybe no. 

NC: You want to gatekeep The Valley?

HK: I mean it’s already gone. We have Erewhon and six Whole Foods in like 2 square miles. I mean it is kind of annoying because before I would go to West Hollywood to go to a certain restaurant but now that restaurant is here in The Valley. Or I would go somewhere in Venice to go to a coffee shop and now that coffee shop is in The Valley. It kind of just feels like everywhere is the same. But no… people should know more about The Valley.

I think that’s a double edge sword because there's so much construction and renovation happening in The Valley. So many parts of it are still untouched from the ‘70s. Since certain areas like Sherman Oaks, Studio City, and Tarazana are becoming really popular, those things are being torn down and renovated for like fucking Sweet Green or something. And it sucks. The reason that movie Licorice Pizza exists is because they were able to shoot all of it on location because everything was still untouched.

NC: Speaking of Licorice Pizza, you’ve mentioned Paul Thomas Anderson as one of your favorite directors. Why’s that?

HK: He’s had some horrible outfits but during There Will be Blood, he was dressed pretty well. He also just feels like a classic California kid; through his style, through some of the movies that he shoots in LA. It just feels very California. And the movies that are more specifically in The Valley are special to me. Not that they could be set anywhere but like we’ve said earlier some of the most famous Valley movie characters before those [PTA] movies were like Cher from Clueless, Julie from Valley Girl and [those] from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Well actually Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a great movie where they take all these characters that might be silly in other movies, are taken very seriously in this movie. And I think it’s the same especially in a movie like Magnolia where there’s so much melodrama for a movie about 10 people in The Valley. I think it’s something that people overlook, usually movies in LA are about a gritty worker in Hollywood trying to make it in movies or a detective noir Columbo style cop vibe so I think it’s cool to see your neighborhood. I don’t know, seeing a movie you love and then hearing the character say their home address and it’s the same zip code as you… that’s a kind of fun feeling.

NC: I’m sure that makes your world feel a bit smaller and more special. I think for me, you know in Tucson, there’s not that many movies filmed there but the only ones I can think of are Revenge of the Nerds which was filmed mainly at the U of A and Money Can’t Buy Me Love which was filmed at the biggest highschool in town. And these are movies that people still talk about to this day, 40 years later…

Who are some of your other favorite directors right now? From a ‘fits standpoint or movie standpoint.

HK: I don’t want to say his movies are bad because I haven’t really seen most of them, but Ridley Scott has insane fits. I don’t know about these days, I haven’t really seen what he’s been wearing but when he was on the set of Gladiator — the most wild fits. Literally something that you’d wear today and you’d be featured on Blackbird Spyplane… it’s so good.

David Lynch in my opinion made the best movie about LA.

NC: Mulholland Drive?

HK: Yeah I think it's the best movie about LA. He just makes good movies about LA in general, Lost Highways, also fantastic. For being a transplant, he packs in so much of the spirit of LA in both of those movies in such a not obvious way. Not necessarily visually but thematically — just the story of “I don't know what it feels like to be new in this city” but sometimes I do think it would be crazy to come here for the first time because I know so much of the landscape and it’s so big and there's no big public transportation, so I sometimes think “Damn! People who move here for the first time and get it quickly and are able to survive, that’s impressive.” Both of those movies are about being lost in LA, for different reasons.

Paul Schrader also is one of my favorites. He made one of the best movies about LA, American Gigolo — it's so fire. Shot all in Westwood, the car the main character drives for years was considered the LA car, an old Mercedes SL convertible. You just see it all over town all the time still today.

NC: And there's a ton of Giorgio Armani in that movie too?

HK: Yea yea, he put him on the map. He had just done one runway show before that movie and made sort of a name for himself. That propelled him and Richard Gere into stardom. Richard Gere became the sex symbol of the 80’s and the Armani suit became the blueprint for the hot guy for the next 5 years. And then Scorsese tapped him after that for Casino, he did the Miami Vice TV show, sick.

NC: This leads into a greater question of why you think fashion and film are so closely intertwined? Most recently Loewe tapped Takeshi Kitano to model their Fall Winter ‘23 pre collection campaign…

What are some of your favorite fashion/film collabs of all time?

HK: I’m sure there was an earlier moment, but at least since the ‘50s and ‘60s you know Yves Saint Laurent designing clothes for French and Italian films. Stars like Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren having relationships with fashion houses, wearing certain brands in films. They have been synonymous for a very long time. It’s kind of interesting because right now there’s that Loewe campaign … I guess it's not new, but there is a little bit of a newness of directors being front-of-camera for some of these fashion campaigns whereas before maybe it was like Richard Gere modeling for Armani and now it's… 

NC: Straight to the source.

HK: Exactly, now we are going to put David Cronenberg, Pedro Almodovar, Abel Ferrara and Jim Jarmusch in a Saint Laurent campaign. They are gonna model the new clothes, not the stars in their movies — which is pretty crazy. Same with Takeshi Kitano in Loewe. It's interesting because they are not the first person you would think of. Directors have always been fire and appreciated for a long time but it seems they've never had their shine in the same way a painter, musician, or any of the other art forms gets. They always teeter on the edge of “Is it a commercial business? Or is this really art if there's all this money and brands involved?” Is it really art? I think it is.

There's even the other side where brands are getting inspired by movie production design and set design. Gregg Araki movies are constantly referenced by so many brands. Tyler, the Creator referencing Wes Anderson shit in his music videos. You know, they say rappers want to be athletes and athletes want to be rappers. I think it's the same thing with designers and directors. They each want to be each other. Right now at Saint Laurent the guy running it, Anthony Vaccarello, just started the first ever in-house film studio at a fashion house. So they are going to straight up make short films and feature films with big names and up-and-coming names. Forget going to be inspired by movies because they are great, we are going to make these great movies. They aren’t going to be commercials, but Anthony Vaccarello is going to have a hand in costume design. They are going to have all this money and resources to bring big names together and get talent together. Everyday [these worlds] get closer and closer.

NC: What would be a movie off the top of your head that had killer costume design?

HK: American Gigolo for sure.

HK: There’s a Takeski Kitano movie, a couple of them, that are costume designed by Yohji Yamamoto. There’s one specifically, Brother, when they come to LA and it's Omar Epps in Yohji Yamamoto suits and he looks so fire. Phantom Thread is also great. That one is Mark Bridges. The guy researched actual ‘50s couture houses and studied Balenciaga and Dior and a couple others brands to get inspiration. He drew all the dresses that Daniel Day-Lewis’ character designs in the movie. There's this great pamphlet that came out when the movie was in theaters that had the drawings in them too. They also worked directly with a bunch of the houses off Saville Row like Anderson & Sheppard and a few other brands to make everything custom for Daniel Day-Lewis. And his dad apparently was a big Saville Row guy so Daniel Day-Lewis already had some pieces from his dad that he wanted to recreate. Some of the pieces he wears are very much inspired by his dad. They constructed the coats in the same spec that the film takes place so he's wearing like 14 pound tweed. It's so good.

NC: I know one other movie that I wanted to mention because you actually told me about it a long time ago was John Paul Gaultier for The Fifth Element. I know there's a lot of cool costume design in the science fiction genre as a whole and more and more we are seeing this style blend into everyday fashion.

HK: No totally. I mean that movie is crazy. Apparently some of the actual costumes of the background characters are straight up just wearing off the rack Gaultier. His clothes were already so wild they didn't have to alter them for the movie. Yeah, sci-fi movies are great. Especially, old sci-fi movies for a long time have been huge inspirations for designers.

NC: Diving deeper, there is a history of directors making fashion ads. You talked about Paul Schrader and Armani. The Coen Brothers did an ad for GAP, Micahel Bay for Victoria Secret, David Lynch for Jil Sander, etc. if you could build out your dream director x brand collab, who would it be?

HK: I’m sure this brand would die for it, but it would be crazy to see Martin Scorsese do a Supreme commercial. Like some serious product that he makes a short film for. Or even seeing him make a skate film for Supreme would be crazy.

But non streetwear, I think a lot of the good ones already happened. A lot of them are for cologne or perfume and I kinda wish sometimes they weren't. There is a great Gus Van Sant series for Gucci, literally 9 episodes and those are great. All these people were wearing beautiful clothes walking around beautiful Milan. It's a great piece of content. It's content, but it's still really nice.

Honestly another streetwear one, Cronenberg doing a Brain Dead commercial. All the body horror, crazy props and shit.

NC: They can come out with a shirt that has two extra arm holes. And that's part of the ad.

HK: Exactly, that’s the model.

NC: What was a personal moment for @DirectorFits that legitimized the account and made you want to continue?

HK: Sometimes people leave a comment or DMs saying that the writing is good and that shit is crazy to me because I always think it's so bad. But that always makes me feel really good and I should take it more seriously because people actually think it's good and like it. And are willing to express it so that means there are more people who probably think that but don’t like it enough to express that.

NC: You’re like can you tell my college professors that too…

HK: Lowkey, I don’t think I ever got an A on a college paper.

NC: And you studied communications right?

HK: Yea. I was a solid B writer. That's why I’m always surprised when people say it's good. And then I think just getting asked to work with some brands and companies that have asked me to make stuff for them — that makes me want to work harder. Netflix, A24 and GQ like WTF. If you told me that a year ago, I would have told you you’re fucking lying. When those things happen, it's crazy and I shouldn't take anything for granted. I should work hard and put more out there.

These things also remind me too that it's bigger than me, It's not my idea anymore. It never was never my idea. It's just things that exist and I’m just pointing it out to people. 

Someone DM’d me this Steven Spielberg action figure that’s coming out with Mattel saying “It's because of you.” I don't know if I believe that, but it's sick that other people see my account and and think I’m the reason for popularized director coolness. People will call my shirts Directors Fits shirts and it's crazy to me that it's become its own thing. It's not a brand but…

NC: It has its own life and voice.

HK: Exactly. People recognize those things and that's the ultimate compliment.

NC: Where do you see the future of @DirectorFits

HK: I don’t know exactly what to call it, but I think there's an opportunity to build a relationship with some of the studios and companies I've worked with on a more ongoing basis. You know how when a new movie comes out the people who worked on the movie go on a press run and talk to podcasts and magazines. I feel like this could be one of those where if you're like Wes Anderson and you’re going to go promote Asteroid City, we do an interview where we shoot some content or maybe I make some merch for the film. Transition it to more of a way to promote. I think it will help legitimize it more if I go to the actual source. ‘Cause now a lot of these things are my take and perspective on things so sometimes it's nice to go to Paul Schrader and be like what does this mean? And he tells you what it means or he defines his style so I’m not defining it for him. Taking it one level more seriously than it is right now. And hopefully by doing those things, maybe there is a physical product like a book or another place where all this lives outside of Instagram. Because it is just on Instagram right now and to me that still doesn't mean it's real. People still think it's just an Instagram page, but to me it's much more because I can take this off Instagram and it would still be a real thing.

I also try not to think too much about it because this whole thing happened out of nowhere, so I feel like I don't need to take it that seriously either because things will just happen. I’m just steering the ship, not letting it teeter off in one direction or another. I’m not going full steam ahead in any sort of big move.